On March nights, the breeze is breezy and the spring is cold. A heavy snowfall has just fallen on this beautiful and barren land, hiding the footprints of people walking in a hurry and the hard droppings left behind by animals. The mountains are covered with yellow weeds, and under the invasion of wind and sand, few trees can survive forever, and only the cold-tolerant and drought-resistant apricot trees grow in the foothills of the low hills. In the vast white field of vision, several houses with smoky roofs were scattered on a low hill, and under the eaves of green tiles and lime, a loud baby cry pierced the silent night sky after the snow, so that the thick clouds in the air became deeper.

"It's out! It's out! An old woman with a boot-like face opened the curtain of the bedroom and shouted excitedly. Her expression was numb, but her tone was unusually excited. The people who were standing or squatting on the ground hurriedly stood up, and one of the young men with clear eyebrows stepped forward and asked expectantly, "Boys and girls?" ”

"Girl." The old woman shook her bloody hands, turned around and went back to the bedroom. The man's eyes darkened suddenly, and the rest of the room walked away with a sigh.

The baby was placed in a small mattress sewn from linen, and there was a stubborn expression on his wrinkled skin. Her eyes were half-open and half-closed, and the pupils that appeared between them were dark and shiny, and she looked clever and intelligent. The woman who had used too much effort slackened at this point, her eyes staring blankly at the tattered ceiling glued with newspapers, her hands hanging limply to the side.

"Okay, tomorrow I will ask your mother to kill an old hen and make up for you. Don't go down the kang these days, the weather is very cold. If you can't sit well in confinement, you will have to bear it in the future. The old woman put her hand into the basin and rubbed it vigorously, and when the blood on her hands was washed to the point that she could not be seen, she put on the thick cotton jacket she had worn again, and walked slowly towards the door.

The curtain was lifted, and the man walked in.

"Thank you, I'll go to your house tomorrow to thank you." He bent over, the smile on his face calm and elegant. The old woman said a few words, then lifted the curtain and left.

The man sat down beside the woman's kang, the shadows of the trees outside the window, and the terrible sound of the wind faintly came in. The flame of the candle flickered, and the woman's face disappeared in the darkness for a moment, and then appeared in the light.

"Cuiying, how are you feeling?" The man asked softly, and he took her hand.

The woman opened her eyes slightly, and said weakly, "It's a girl, right?" ”

The man nodded. At this time, there was a sound of rapid running footsteps outside, and a three-year-old girl ran to the man's side laughing.

"Daddy."

The man touched her head, pointed to the newborn baby and said, "Go see your sister." ”

"Sister." The little girl ran to the baby again, she looked at her curiously, stretched out her cold little finger and gently poked the baby's soft cheek, and grinned.

"It's not a son, your parents are angry, right?" The woman opened her mouth again, and her strength seemed to have regained some.

"It's okay, I like it all." The man smiled slightly and tucked the corners of the quilt. A figure suddenly appeared in the shadow of the swaying tree outside the window, knocked on the window and shouted softly: "Jiafu, you come out and go down." ”

"Mom called me, I'll go out." Jiafu gently patted the back of Cuiying's hand, got up and walked out.

"You go and feed the mules, and I'll clean up for your daughter-in-law, and sleep comfortably at night." Mother Zhou stood outside the house, her two arms inserted into the sleeves of her padded jacket, and her tone was flat and she couldn't hear a trace of emotion.

"Got it." Jiafu went down the stairs and walked towards the main room, which was surrounded by darkness, and found a flashlight on the table inside, and stepped into the mule pen with a foot deep and a shallow foot in the snow.

The old man turned around and went into the house, cleaned up all the dirty places in the bedroom, and went to the kitchen to work, wanting to cook some ginger soup for Cuiying to drink. Cuiying lay with her eyes closed, she was so tired that she didn't even change her posture, and after a while, she fell into a deep sleep.

The little baby wrapped in the futon lay beside her, scented with milk. She woke up, looked at her sister lying next to her for a while with her round eyes, looked at Zhou's mother who was busy on the ground, and looked at the wind-blown tree shadows outside the window, and suddenly grinned and giggled. In her eyes, the world was as pure as the snow-covered land outside, and there was not a trace of uncleanness. She waved her little hands, from lying down to crawling around on the kang, and finally followed her six-year-old sister to run around in the yard, at that time Cuiying had a big belly, struggling to sit on the small bench in the yard to wash vegetables, the weather was clear, the summer temperature was pleasant, the sun was lazily sprinkled all over every corner, and from time to time a breeze blew, and the headscarf tied to Cuiying's head fluttered gently with the wind.

"Oops." She suddenly leaned back, and her two wet hands pressed on the apron in front of her belly, "Hexin!" Go call your grandma! ”

"Good!" Hexin agreed, bowed her head and said to her sister, "Hedi, you wait for me here, and my sister will come back in a while." ”

He Tu nodded ignorantly, and Hexin spread her feet and ran out of the door quickly, running towards the people who were busy in the distant fields.

He Tu stood in place, watching her sister disappear into the doorway, and then turned her head to look at her mother. Emerald Shadow had already stood up, leaning against the corner of the wall as she walked into the room, her whole face twisted into a ball from the pain. She hurriedly ran over to hold her mother's knees, opened her little mouth and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you?" ”

Cuiying couldn't even say a word, just shook her head with difficulty, shifted her right hand from her stomach to Hedi's head, patted it gently, and continued to walk into the house. After walking for a century, when she finally lay down on the kang, the beads of sweat on her head had soaked the corners of her turban, and the remaining strength was only enough to gasp for a thin breath.

Later, Grandma and Dad rushed back, and Hetu and Hexin were driven out of the door and not allowed to enter. He Tu squatted beside Hexin, playing with the small branches in her hand, she looked at her sister's face with a small mouth, and stammered: "Sister, mother, why are you crying?" ”

He Xin shook her head, reached out and grabbed He Di's hand, her white and tender little face flushed, and she was almost about to cry.

Fortunately, this process ended quickly, and the old woman with bloody hands appeared under the curtain again, looked at them with a numb expression, and said excitedly: "Come out!" It's out! ”

"Boys and girls?" Jiafu hurriedly stepped forward and looked inside. The old woman said quickly: "Girl. He turned around and went in. Jiafu's eyes dimmed, and he was about to go in with the old woman, but he was stopped by Zhou's mother, and she scolded him in a low voice, "What are you doing with a big man, it's dirty, you wait outside." So Jiafu was also kicked out, and the door was slammed behind him.

He Tu and He Xin looked up at him, expecting their father to tell them what was going on in the house.

Jiafu squatted down beside them, looked at their red faces, and their braids were tied haphazardly at the back of their heads, looking messy, and suddenly smiled. He poked Hetu's face and said gently, "You have a sister, aren't you happy?" ”

"Sister." He repeated his father's words, not understanding what he was saying. Hexin jumped up from the ground, with a fresh joy on her face, pointed to the room and asked, "Do I have a sister again?" After receiving her father's affirmative answer, she squatted down again and explained to Hedi, telling her that they both had younger sisters. Although He Tu didn't understand, he saw that his sister was so happy, and he laughed along with the dancing hands.

Jiafu named his third daughter Zhou Herui. When Zhou Herui could shake her little hands and stumble behind Hedi, Cuiying became pregnant again. Although everyone didn't speak, they all pinned their hopes on this fetus, hoping that what would be born was a big fat boy, not a little girl who combed each other's pigtails in the yard. Zhou's mother and Zhou's father suddenly became religious, and every day when they returned from their busy work in the field, they would pray earnestly, hoping that their god would bless them and fulfill their wishes.

So when Hedi was five years old, Zhou Heyi was born, still a girl, looking at the unhappy adult faces in front of her with ignorant eyes.

Mother Zhou and Father Zhou snorted coldly and walked away, Jiafu looked at Heyi blankly, and then looked at Cuiying, his thick eyebrows wrinkled tightly.

"That's not going to work." He sat down beside her. After giving birth to several in a row, Cuiying was already numb to this pain, and at this time she just opened her chapped lips and cried weakly: "I can't help it." ”

The two looked at each other hopelessly for a while, and the voice of Zhou's mother coming in broke the silence, she held a bowl of soup in her hand, and the soup base was calm with a large piece of chicken, handed it to Jiafu, and said lightly: "Let Cuiying drink some, and have a little strength." ”

"Hey." Jiafu took it. He Xin was sitting on the side coaxing the crying Heyi, and Hetu and Herui sat on the two small benches on the ground, salivating greedily at the bowl of fatty and fragrant chicken soup.

"I want to drink." He Tu swallowed his saliva, and He Rui also said a word like his sister and swallowed his saliva.

"Obedient, that's for mom." Hexin scolded lightly, "Mom only needs to drink when she is sick, and you can't drink it if you are not sick." ”

He Tu and He Rui nodded as if they didn't understand. Jiafu didn't seem to hear their conversation, but mechanically sent chicken soup to Cuiying's mouth.

The people of the countryside have always been in good health, and the perennial work in the fields not only exercised their bodies, but also exercised their will, so that they went out early and returned late every day, and did not complain in the face of endless and boring work. Especially during the autumn harvest, every family, whether it is an elderly person with gray hair or a thin-armed, malnourished child, has to go to the field to harvest wheat, which determines whether they will have enough rations and money bags to feed the whole family in the coming year. Zhou Jiafu's family has several acres of land, and he is very busy at this time, and he goes down to the ground every morning until the sun sets, and the darkness covers the entire mountain. No matter how hard and tired it is, no one has time to complain, except for half an hour of lunch break, there is almost no time and strength to speak.

Hexin followed the adults of the family to the field, and Hedi stayed at home to take care of her two younger sisters. She is six years old this year, and she is gradually becoming sensible, and when the adults are too busy, they will call her and her sister to help. Hexin's brain is a little stupid, and she is very slow to respond to things, and she often has to take one thing apart and say it carefully and thoroughly. Hedi is much more clever than Hexin, she is quick with her hands and feet, and her little head reacts very quickly, and she has already prepared everything before the adult says what she wants to do. At this time, because there was not enough manpower in the field, Hexin went to the field with the adults, and the lunch and dinner for the family of eight were prepared by Hedi, and at the same time, she also had to take care of her two younger sisters. Although this is not what I should do at my age, and the burden of doing things is too heavy, but he is ignorant, since he was a child, he has always felt that this is what he should do, after all, every time his grandparents, parents and sister come back from the field, they are very tired, almost no strength to walk, at this time they are looking forward to that mouthful of hot rice, how can they be embarrassed to run elsewhere to play? He Tu is very strong, everything must be done neatly, not giving others a chance to be picky, the work is beautiful, adults often praise her, and she is more and more proud.

The crops in the fields are almost finished, and the pressure on the laborers is gradually decreasing. One morning, when the sky was so bright that it was almost impossible to see the outlines of the leaves on the branches, Cuiying climbed up from the kang. She has been feeling very tired lately, and she has no appetite to eat, and her hands are so heavy that she can barely lift them when she works. She cheered up, put on an old gray cloth shirt she had found from Zhou's mother, and shuffled towards the kitchen. She got up to make breakfast for several people in the family, and Zhou's mother was old, so she usually helped occasionally, except for eating, nothing would not easily come to the kitchen.

Half an hour later, when the delicious meal was served, Cuiying went to wake up her husband and asked her husband to wake up her parents-in-law. She woke up her four sleeping daughters from their sleep so that they could finish the meal together, and Hexin set off with the adults, while Hexin stayed at home to cook and take her two younger sisters.

The sun was soon setting in the east, and the lazy sun was covering the earth again. The air is warm and bright, and the sun makes people a little sluggish. As soon as Hedi finished cooking, he heard Heyi crying loudly in the back room. She hurriedly jumped down from the small stool that was placed on the side of the high stove and ran into the back room to see what was going on.

As soon as he saw her come in, Heyi cried even harder.

"What's going on?" He Tu picked up He Yi and shook it gently, looking at He Rui reproachfully. He Rui stood aside expressionlessly, coldly watching He Yi crying, indifferent.

"You're snatching the doll again." He Di's sharp eyes saw the head of the broken doll hidden behind Herui, "You are bigger than Heyi, you have to let her." ”

"Why?" He Rui glared at He Yi, turned around and ran out. He Yi frowned, but she didn't know what to do, He Yi was still crying in her arms, and the lid of the pot on the stove was gurgling.

"Good, don't cry, my sister will go to fry the vegetables first, and I'll take you out to play after the cooking, okay?" She said softly, but Heyi still ignored it, crying to herself. He Tu craned his neck and shouted out to Herui, but received no response. She had no choice but to find an old strap from the kang, tie her sister inside the harness, and then tie it to her again.

"Be good, don't cry." He stood up and walked lightly. It's really strange that Heyi stopped crying right away.

The sun outside had moved to the middle overhead, and the sun had suddenly become so hot that people could barely open their eyes. He faintly heard the sound of people returning in the distance, and hurried to the kitchen. The vegetables that had been washed before cooking were placed on the cutting board, and she cut them with her hands and feet, skillfully pouring oil into the pot. After a crackling sound, a tantalizing aroma came out of the pot. As soon as Hetu brought the fried vegetables to the table, Jiafu scooped out the curtain and came in from outside.

"Oops, it smells so good." He swallowed his saliva, saw Heyi smiling at him on his back, and stretched out his hand to tease her with a smile, "Daddy is back?" Ever missed Daddy? ”

He Tu loosened the strap on her body, and Jiafu hugged He Yi over, put it on her lap and shook it gently, teasing her fleshy face. At this time, Cuiying and Zhou's father and mother also came in from outside, and sat down at the table tiredly with dust and sweat.

"Sister." He ran to Hexin's side and shouted with a grin.

"I'm tired, but I'm almost done." Hexin turned her head to look around, "What about Herui?" ”

"She snatched Heyi's doll and made Heyi cry, and now she doesn't know where she ran to."

"Hedi, you go and get Herui back, let's eat." Cui Ying spoke, her face was a little pale, and she picked up the bowl and drank a stomach of water.

He Tu ran out of the door, the people in the noon sun were a little wilted, and there were a few children squatting and playing in the sand outside the courtyard gate, and Herui was also mixed in it, looking very happy. He ran over, and suddenly saw a girl standing next to them, who should be about eleven years old, with a faint and gentle smile, although she was very interested in what they were playing, but she stood far away, as if she was not very willing to participate.

He stopped beside her, looking at her curiously. The girl was dressed in a very different way than here, she was dressed as a godlike city person, wearing a pink gauze dress, and a pair of white sneakers under her fair and slender calves, with no dust on them, like a fairy falling from the sky.

He Tu couldn't help but look down at the coarse cloth pants and blouse on his body, the cloth shoes on his feet were made by his mother a long time ago, they were already very torn, and the upper and sole seemed to be about to separate. She suddenly envied that girl, and suddenly liked the dress that the girl was wearing, as if the skirt was worn on herself, and she became a fairy.

He looked at her for too long, and the girl finally found out, and turned her head to look at her with displeasure.

"Who are you?" He asked timidly, feeling that he was about to descend into the dust.

The girl seemed to be thinking about how to answer, and at this time, Herui ran over, stood beside Hedi, and looked at her with the same curiosity, with pride in her expression, and said with a small chest: "She is the granddaughter of Grandma He below, from the city." ”

The girl tilted her head and smiled, "My name is Xiuhan." ”

"Yes, yes, yes." Herui hurriedly replied, especially proud to know her name.

He Tu quietly pursed his lips, grabbed He Rui's arm, and said, "Mom told you to eat." As soon as the voice fell, as if to answer them, Cuiying's slightly angry shout came from the courtyard: "Hediherui! Time to eat! ”

They turned around and hurriedly ran in, and Hedi ran to the door, stopped again, looked back at Xiuhan, and asked timidly, "Are you still here in the afternoon?" ”

Xiuhan looked into the courtyard and nodded, "Come on." ”

He smiled contentedly, turned and ran inside.